Games in which game pieces are moved about a pre-marked game board surface according to a particular set of rules are known in the art. Such board games may provide a form of entertainment to game players.
Many games involve elements of chance or strategy. Games of pure chance may not provide sufficient stimulation to their players, while games of pure strategy may discourage participation by relatively inexperienced players. Introducing elements of chance into a strategy game, however, may allow for more diverse and multi-faceted game strategies while also leveling the playing field between beginners and experts to some degree.
A problem with many traditional board games—particularly those involving significant strategy elements—is that they take too long to play. In our fast-paced modern society, many people are unwilling to devote hours on end to playing a board game.
An issue with board games that include a “physical” game board is that these games are not sufficiently portable—if the game board needs to be moved, game pieces may be scattered and their positions on the game board may be lost. This is a particular problem because most physical board games utilize game pieces that are not capable being securely, releasably coupled to the game board itself. Similarly, many physical game boards are so large relative to their game boxes that they must be folded or disassembled to be stored in the box. If the folding or disassembly requires that game pieces positioned on the board be removed, an interrupted game cannot be stopped, stored, and saved for resumption of play at a later time. Still other games require the use of a physical board that is too heavy to permit convenient portable play.
Games involving words, phrases, or sentences on game pieces, cards, boards, or other game elements present the potential disadvantage of limiting play to those game players who readily understand the language that the words, phrases, or sentences are written in. On the other hand, games involving relatively universally understood numeral systems, such as the Arabic numeral system or a simple unary numeral system (e.g. dots on playing die), are readily adoptable by larger numbers of people.
Known board games often incorporate well-known board designs and methods of play. What is needed are new board games having improved game board designs and offering new methods of play that create additional strategic movement and game play considerations for players.